Deep Sea Precious Corals as Habitat for Macroinvertebrates in Hawaii  (Year 1 of 1) Project Number: HURL-R2004-02 Principle Investigators: Baco-Taylor, A., T. M. Shank, and T. C. Shirley Region(s): Cross Seamount, Hawaii Island, Oahu Diverse deep-sea coral assemblages, including gorgonian and precious corals, thrive on Hawaiian seamounts and islands. Deep-sea corals have been widely acknowledged as providing structural complexity and habitat for fish and invertebrates in the deep sea (e.g. Husebo et al. 2002, Krieger & Wing 2002), however little is known about their spatial distribution, predators, commensals, or the organisms that utilize them for habitat (Heifetz 2002). Few studies have investigated the assemblages associated with deep-sea coral species (Krieger & Wing 2002). Most studies that have examined fauna on deep-sea corals have used remote sampling techniques, from which spatial relationships cannot be determined with certainty. If deep-sea corals are critical habitat and serve as biodiversity ‘hot-spots’ in the deep sea, the fauna associated with them and their biological relationships should be investigated and quantified prior to further degradation by commercial coral harvesting activities. Submersible observations of precious corals and other gorgonians found in the corals beds on several islands in Hawaii have shown that a number of species may inhabit a single coral tree (unpubl data). Additionally, it appears that each species of coral consistently harbors different characteristic species. Despite these observations, none of these fauna have been quantified, and few have been identified. We propose to examine the coral-associated invertebrate and fish fauna at three large precious coral beds in the Hawaiian Archipelago, the Makapu’u Bed, on the southeast slope of Oahu, the Keahole Bed, on the western slope of Hawaii, and the Cross Seamount Bed. We will focus on the following questions: 1) What is the community composition of the commensal coral fauna? 2) How does this compare between different coral beds? 3) Do any of the fauna exhibit habitat selectivity? We request 3 Pisces V submersible and 2 ROV dives per site (for a total of 9 dive days) to conduct video transects in coral beds, and collect still images. This research meshes with several aspects of the Ocean Exploration program including: marine life inventories, characterization of benthic habitats and ecosystems, and mapping corals. To date, little is known about the species structure, diversity and habitat selectivity of the fauna associated with deep-sea corals. By examining these communities at three major precious coral beds, we will get an idea of the coral-invertebrate community relationships. Leg 1    Begin Date: 10/2/2004   End Date: 10/17/2004   Support Vessel/Platform: R/V KOK System Ops Days Dives Dive Time (hrs) Depth (m) Pisces V 8 8 63.03 863 RCV-150 7 12 23.47 544

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